Resolution
by lakergirl4life
Summary: Paige is prepared to kill Mike if he's not there to kiss her at midnight.


"He'll be here," Paige insisted, ignoring the pitying look Zelanski gave her.

Tonight was Mike's idea. She was fine with going out to The Drop for a few drinks and ringing in the New Year back at Graceland, but Mike insisted on making a big deal about New Year's Eve. It was their first together. And considering the year they had, he understandably wanted to celebrate. They both did. She was surprised they were even on speaking terms, much less dating. In fact, when the year started she wasn't even sure she'd see Mike again. But then a hit was put out on him and he made his way back to Graceland. He was only supposed to be here a few days, but the hit turned into being the lead he had been looking for in his bus case. Their mutual attraction hadn't faded in the year that they had been apart and they picked things up where they left off last summer, enjoying a few weeks of stolen kisses and secret hookups before everything fell apart. Their _relationship_ was too fragile to survive the strain of outside forces. His secret fling with his boss. Her sending him to seduce his boss for resources. Her going undercover as a tinker bell and refusal to see the big picture. Him not being able to see past the big picture. All his lies regarding Lina. Her turning him over to Sid.

Paige closed her eyes for a few seconds, wishing she could take back that single action. But she couldn't. If things had turned out any differently, she was positive she wouldn't be standing here right now. And Mike wouldn't be anywhere.

_"Mike's fine, but you need to get to the hospital right away. Ask Jakes to drive you, make sure Johnny stays with Charlie. Sid tried to kill Mike and he almost succeeded."_

A waitress walked by a tray of champagne and Paige grabbed two glasses. She quickly downed one and handed off the glass to another waiter as she sipped the second glass, hoping it would settle her nerves. If Mike was here with her now, he'd tell her not to get caught up in the past. That if they didn't move forward, then Sid and the Solanos won. Sometimes she wondered if he was with her just to prove that Sid didn't win. But then she'd think about the look in his eyes when she caught him watching her sleep. How he'd smile at her if she kissed him awake in the morning. Mike wasn't faking that. That was all real. They were real.

It took Mike technically dying for her to realize how much he meant to her. Despite everything she did, Mike wanted to start over. It had taken them weeks to work through all their garbage. For any other guy, she wouldn't have bothered. He wouldn't have have been worth it. But Mike wasn't any other guy and he was definitely worth it. It was a lot of hard work, but they had finally gotten to a place where they could start fresh. Forgive each other. Leave their mistakes in the past. Learn to trust each other again. Be honest. That was why tonight was so important to Mike. It was supposed to symbolize a fresh start.

So here she was in a new dress that left Mike speechless and made him second guess going out.

_Alone._

Which every single guy took as an invitation to try every lame pickup line they could think of on her. It irritated her that most of the guys wouldn't walk away gracefully when she turned them down. Only leaving when she mentioned she had a boyfriend or if Zelanski took a step forward. If one more guy told her she must be an angel, she was going to punch him.

11:56.

Paige tensed when she checked her watch. If Mike didn't show up before midnight, she'd kill him, because ringing in the New Year with Zelanski was not how this night was supposed to go.

"You sure about that?" Zelanski asked.

"Positive." No way would Mike let her down. He would do everything in his power to be here. But some things were out of his control. Like the phone call he got on their way out the door summoning him to Headquarters. She offered to accompany him, but he insisted both of them didn't need to spend their evening holed up there and promised to meet up with her as soon as he could. Which was how she wound up with Zelanski at her side.

"Because if Mike's not here at midnight, I'll be more than happy to step in for him."

Paige laughed, "I'll pass." Zelanski used to have a crush on her when they first started working together, but once she made it clear that she wasn't interested, he never mentioned it again.

"Your loss," Zelanski said, wandering off into the crowd, no doubt in search of someone to kiss at midnight.

Paige shook her head, watching him leave. She felt someone move close behind her and just as she was about to tell the latest overeager douchebag to scram a familiar pair of arms wrap around her from behind. She placed her hands over his, leaning back into Mike's arms. "I was starting to think you stood me up."

"Sorry, I'm so late," Mike apologized, dropping a kiss on her shoulder. "You look incredible. Have I mentioned that?" Mike skimmed his hands over her sides of her gold sparkly dress and she shivered.

Turning, she beamed at him. "I knew you'd be here." Grabbing his tie, she twisted it around her hand as she pulled him closer for a kiss. "Because if you had stood me up, I was prepared to kill you."

"There was a break in the Jimenez case and there was traffic and an accident on - "

Paige pressed her fingertips over his lips, "You're talking way too much and not kissing me enough."

Mike laughed softly, "That can be fixed." He lowered his mouth over hers as she wrapped her arms around his neck, tugging his hair to pull him closer.

It was so cliche, but she was sure that she could kiss him forever and it wouldn't be enough. When she met Mike that first summer, she thought he was cute. Thought about sleeping with him. But thought it was a bad idea to get involved. When Mike finally made a move, it was for all the wrong reasons, so she turned him down. If there was one thing she knew, it was that when she finally gave into temptation she wanted to be the only thing on his mind. Sometimes she wondered how things would've been different if they'd gotten together that first summer. Would Mike have gone back to DC at all or stayed at Graceland? Would they have still been together last summer or would their summer fling have fizzled out? Would they have been strong enough to survive the bus case? How would things had been different if they had been working together and not keeping secrets? She wanted to believe he wouldn't lie to her and she wouldn't burn him. But not that it mattered. Those things happened. The important thing to remember was that they were together_ now_.

Pushing all thoughts of the past from her mind, she focused on Mike. His kiss became more demanding as his mouth moved over hers. He threaded one hand through her hair while he lightly brushed his knuckles along the exposed skin of her bare back with the other. She wondered if he had any idea how crazy that simple action was driving her? It made her want to drag him off to the nearest bathroom and pounce.

Breathless, Paige pulled back from Mike. "You..." her voice trailed off as she noticed everyone around them toasting, kissing and trying to sing along to, "Auld Lang Syne." She threw her head back, laughing once she realized she and Mike kissed through the countdown.

"I wanted tonight to be perfect." Mike brushed his lips over her throat as he kissed his way back to her lips.

"I kissed you at midnight, that's all that matters to me."

"How about we fly to another time zone so we can try again?"

Paige patted his chest. "Hawaii's a five hour flight and only a two hour time difference." Paige nodded slowly as she watched Mike put together the pieces. "There's always next year though."

"Yeah? Me and you - on a beach in Hawaii ringing in 2016?"

"It's a date," Paige promised. "You know, we don't have to wait until New Year's Eve. You just got a break in your case, once you finish we could go on vacation." Suddenly feeling insecure, Paige held her breath as she waited for Mike to answer. It was one thing to make plans for a year from now. It was like when she ran into someone she barely knew and they talked about making lunch plans that they both knew would never happen. Planning a vacation for a few weeks or months from now felt like a more concrete step in their relationship. Even though she and Mike were together now that didn't mean he wanted to be together in a few months, despite his insistence that he wanted to start over with her.

"It's a date," Mike said, repeating her words from earlier. Mike smiled at her as he leaned forward, lowering his voice, "What do you say we get out of here? You can help me get a start on my New Year's Resolution."

"What's that?"

"Being alone with you much as possible."

THE END


End file.
